Want to be an 
incineration zone?

To the editor:

R = 0.685 times the square root of (pd) squared, where p is expressed in pounds/square inch, and d = distance.

What does that mean to you? For me it’s the end of sleeping well in my home, purchased recently as newlyweds, where my husband and I have been decorating, upgrading, and planning to raise a family.

It is significant to you, too, if you drive over New Hampshire state routes 78, 119, 21, 12, 202, 124, 123, 45, 31, 12, 122, 101A, 101, 3, 3A, 102, 111, 128, 111A, or 38 — all roads that Kinder Morgan’s proposed Northeast Energy Direct project — an overbuilt 36 inch, 1400 psi, 2.2 billion cubic foot/day natural gas pipeline mostly pumping gas to Massachusetts or export — will burrow under.

Technically, this equation calculates the radius that would be devastated in a “catastrophic event,” or the “incineration zone.” My home falls in that zone, as do about a thousand more in the 17-plus towns that would be disrupted, as NED delivers gas to Massachusetts, but none for home heating in most of New Hampshire.

“Catastrophic events” are not common, only seven to 10 this year. But between 2003 to 2013 in Texas alone, Kinder Morgan experienced 36 significant incidents, resulting in fatalities or hospitalization, fires, explosions or spills. Do we want this in New Hampshire?

NED, via eminent domain taking, will also damage wetlands, aquifers, watersheds, wildlife and wells by blasting, and emit over 20 toxic substances from the unprecedentedly huge compressor station in New Ipswich. But don’t worry — Kinder Morgan will use the “good pipe” under roads, not the thinnest as in our “not highly populated” neighborhoods.

I really don’t want to live in an incineration zone. Do you want to drive in one? Please get informed. Go to www.NHPipelineAwareness.org. The route could always change to your neighborhood!



Jessica Anne Cormier

New Ipswich